Last year was a difficult one for the economy of the United States. The slowdown in the growth of economic activity that had become apparent in late 2000 intensified in the first half of 2001, as businesses slashed investment spending and declines in manufacturing output steepened. Foreign...

The U.S. economy continued to expand at a solid pace over the first half of 2005 despite the restraint imposed on aggregate demand by a further rise in crude oil prices. Household spending trended up, propelled by rising wealth and income and by low interest rates, and business outlays received...

The impressive performance of the U.S. economy persisted in the first half of 2000 with economic activity expanding at a rapid pace. Overall rates of inflation were noticeably higher, largely as a result of steep increases in energy prices. The remarkable wave of new technologies and the...

The U.S. economy has continued to perform well in 1999. The ongoing economic expansion has moved into a near-record ninth year, with real output expanding vigorously, the unemployment rate hovering around lows last seen in 1970, and the underlying trends in inflation remaining subdued....

The economy of the United States has suffered a series of blows in the past few years, including the fall in equity market values that began in 2000, cutbacks in capital spending in 2001, the horrific terrorist attacks of September 11, the emergence of disturbing evidence of corporate...

The weakness in the economy that emerged late last year has become more persistent and widespread. In response, the FOMC has lowered the target federal funds rate six times this year, for a cumulative total reduction of 2-3/4 percentage points. A number of factors account for this unusually...

The year 2004 was marked by continued expansion in economic activity and appreciable gains in employment. With fiscal policy stimulative, monetary policy accommodative, and financial conditions favorable, household spending remained buoyant and businesses increased investment in capital...

Given at the 36th Annual Economic Policy Conference, St. Louis. October 20, 2011.